The Golden Dragon
by Ibookster
Summary: Everyone knows the story of Aang, the Avatar and savior of the Hundred Year War. But what of the other heroes that emerged in the fighting? Many men and women became stories to tell. Stories of great warriors. People who fought and died in the war. And one stands above all others. Aang is a hero. The Golden Dragon is a legend.
1. Chapter 1: The Wanderer

AN: This will be a series I do whenever I can. Maybe once a week maybe more. Enjoy!

* * *

Everyone knows the story of Aang, the Avatar and savior of the Hundred Year War. But what of the other heroes that emerged in the fighting? Many men and women became stories to tell. Stories of great warriors. People who fought and died in the war. And one stands above all others. Aang is a hero. The Golden Dragon is a _legend_.

* * *

Kara ran along the thin dirt road that stretched along the eastern coast of the Earth Kingdom on her way back from Ba Sing Se. She panted with the effort required to make the three day trip there and back from her home in Hiabian, a small city on the edge of Earth Kingdom territory. Hiabian was a simple shipping port that never saw much action, until last year when Fire Nation soldiers started appearing. A small ship attacked in attempt to get another foothold in the Earth Kingdom, this one a day's ride from the capital on ostrichhorse or komodo-rhino. Kara's father, the governor of Hiabian, had sent her to the capital for military support, as she was the fastest runner. When she had gotten there the king wouldn't even see her. Instead his right hand, Long Feng, had acted as if she was lying for attention and that she should just go home. But when she showed him her father's seal he begrudgingly sent a squadron of soldiers to her aid. They were able to draw out the Fire Nation, with the help of Kara's father who had almost single handedly held off the attack with his earth bending until the troops got there. But as soon as it was over, the soldiers left saying that there was no longer a threat. Kara's father was made a general for his "courageous action in troubling times." It was just so dumb! Ever since that had happened, "General" Tolu, Kara's father, had been using his new title to insist that the city be reinforced to prevent further attack, but Long Feng refused. He said that there were no forces that could be spared. That all of the soldiers were needed to protect the capital. But General Tolu still sent his daughter every month to request more protection. The most he had gotten was permission to open an earth bending school to train his own soldiers.

Kara smiled as she saw the familiar giant oak tree that marked the half-way point. She flopped against it and huffed with exhaustion. She grinned to herself as she brushed a curl of her reddish-brown hair back behind her ear. She had never made it to what she had started to refer to as "Halfway Tree" in one straight run before. She adjusted the strap of her bag containing all of the documents that Long Feng "didn't have time for." She stretched out her sore legs and huffed to herself. Oh, how she wished she could just punch that stuck up jerk right in his nose! There were many things could anger Kara, but she usually got over them quickly. She didn't get over being treated like a child. After all, she was twelve already! And she looked at least thirteen! Kara walked over to the little overgrown and forgotten fountain by the tree and took a drink of the cool, clear water. She looked at her muddied green eyes in her reflection for a second. She didn't think she was pretty, although many of the boys at her school disagreed. She wasn't the prettiest girl there but she was attractive. No that wasn't why the others avoided her. It wasn't because of her father either. It wasn't even because she was the worst student in the earth bending academy. He father kept sending her to the school even though it was painfully clear that Kara was a non-bender. But the reason the others avoided her was because of the fact that she was weird. Very weird. But she didn't care. She just beat up anyone who would call her names. Which may have also added to her social isolation but whatever. At least they feared her. She may not be able to throw stone with her mind but she could kick the crap out of the people that could.

Kara took a deep breath and dunked her head under the water. She blew a few bubbles and smiled to herself. Then she looked around the interior of the small stone carving. It was a pale grey with black speckles all over it. It felt rough on her hands a she she held onto the edge to keep from falling in. She gulped some more of the water while she was submerged. She ran a hand through her knotty hair in attempt to retain some form of dominance over the wild beast apon her head hoping the water would help. Her lungs began to burn and she surfaced to find that she had only succeeded in giving her hair even more knots. She sighed and looked back at the fountain. She smiled to her self and listened to the gurgle of the water as it spewed from some elaborate hidden contraption.

"You think you're special?" She asked the fountain. "I can do that too. See?" She scooped more water into her mouth and spat it out onto the ground, striking a pose like a ballerina. "And I can pose like the big fountains in the capital!" she half gloated, half laughed.

Suddenly she heard a slow clapping behind her. She turned and what she saw made her heart drop right into her stomach. Three Fire Nation soldiers stood behind her. The two on either side were average, every day soldiers. But the one in the center wore the armor and sash of a General. There was a small pin on his sash that had a black palm print on it. He wore no helmet, deciding instead to let his jet black hair hang in a loose pony tale behind him. He had a long hooked nose and, like all Fire Nation, golden eyes. He looked young for a general, maybe in his late twenties? Which was only a testament to his strength. If he really was a general, he would have more than just the two guards around. He looked down in Kara with eyes like a hawk who had just spotted his next victim.

"Very impressive." He said in a voice as smooth as silk. "You sure showed that fountain. I particularly like the pose. I have heard much of the fountains in Ba Sing Se. I wish to see those fountains for myself one day." Kara took a deep breath. If they were here... had they gotten to Hiabian? "Say, that bag looks heavy. I wouldn't mind taking a few of those scrolls off of your hands." He said with a smile. So, they were after the documents. Kara tried to protect the bag behind her body. The general's smile vanished. "Now, little girl, if you wouldn't mind handing over those pesky little papers, our business can be done here. We don't want to be troublesome, now do we?"

Kara considered her options. She could fight. No, she could beat the dweebs at the academy but these were trained soldiers. She could run... Well, nothing else seemed to come to mind so she was really glad that she was wearing comfortable shoes. She faked like she was going to run left but then broke right at a full sprint.

The guards took a moment to react. "Don't let her get away!" The general called. One of them shot a blast of fire just to the left of her head. She ducked and kept running. She almost made it but something shot out of the bushes and hit Kara in the legs. Her legs locked together and something bound them tight. She fell on her face and skinned her knee. She looked to see what it was. A long rope with three parts and big rocks tied to the ends had wrapped around her shins. She started to untangle it when one of the guards grabbed her by the back of her shirt and held her up. He grabbed her arm and violently twisted it behind her back.

"I've got her General Tsou (Sow)." He called.

"Good. Take the bag." General Tsou said.

"Yes sir." The guard tried to take the bag but Kara struggled and fought back. She swung both of her leg together and latched on to the strap with her free hand. "No! Stop! Help!" She hated crying for help but she needed it.

"I thought soldiers were supposed to know respect and curtsy." Said a new comer. He stood behind the soldier holding Kara and seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

"What the-?!" The guard dropped me and stumbled back.

It was hard to make out what nation he was from simply by his clothing. His boots looked like Fire nation but he wore a pair of long black leggings tucked into them at the bottom. He had a large dark blue cloak like they wear in the northern Water Tribe for warmth. He had on a large straw hat that covered most of his face. He was short. Couldn't be any older than Kara, yet still he traveled alone. And he was most definitely fast. None of the soldiers had even seen him appear. He smiled under his hat and produced a dagger from under his cloak and knelled next to Kara. Her breath caught but he only slit her bonds. He stood up and faced the soldiers as the third whom had thrown the rope around Kara's legs joined them. Kara stood up and realized that she was actually at least an inch taller than the strange wanderer. He turned to her and said in a childish voice, "Go, I'll hold them off."

Kara stared at him for a moment. Who was he? Why was he helping her? "Go!" He called. Kara, now broken from her stupor, turned and ran as fast she could back towards Hiabian.

"Don't let her escape!" Tsou shouted.

The soldiers tried to chase Kara but before they could get anywhere the wanderer held out his arms and knocked them down. He dashed forward and tackled the last soldier. A soldier grabbed him and pinned his hands behind him. Another guard grabbed his other arm and they held him in front of the the General. But Kara was already gone. The General glared at the wanderer with a look of pure hatred. The wanderer faced down General Tsou feeling no fear, for he had no fear in him to feel.

"You dare interfere in military business?" He asked.

He tried to take off the Wanderer's hat, but before he could, the boy head-butted him in the face, breaking his nose. Tsou recoiled ant fell to the ground holding his nose. He pulled his am in and dragged one of the soldiers holding him into his shoulder. The guard grunted and his grip loosened. The wanderer freed his arm and drove his elbow into the man's solar plexus. He shouted in pain and collapsed. The boy then turned to the other guard and punched him in the head. His helmet turned obscuring his vision. In attempt to keep control he gripped the boy's arm harder. The wanderer punched him in the liver and he groaned. Then when he wouldn't let go, the wanderer punched the soldier in the arm so hard there was a sickening _CRACK_ as his arm broke. The man let go and yelped like a dog who had just stepped on a thorn.

The wanderer faced the last guard and stood as tall as his small frame would allow. The man looked very scared, as well he should be. With speed so fast that the guard could barely fallow with his eyes, the boy ran at the soldier. In a feeble attempt at protecting himself, the man fired two quick jets of flame at the charging boy. He sidestepped the first but the second hit him directly in the chest. Relief filled the man. He stared as the flames wrapped around the boy, lapping greedily at the fabric of his cloak. The boy just grabbed the cloth and ripped it off himself before it spread to his green shirt underneath. It was impossible. He wasn't even burned! He had no marks on him at all! His hand should at least be injured where he grabbed the burning material but it was unharmed. The soldier backed up out of horror at the seemingly immortal boy and tripped over a fallen branch. The boy appeared above him and smiled at the terrified Fire Nation soldier from under his hat.

"No! No! NO!" The guard cried in fear.

* * *

Kara's legs burned from the exertion of running at full sprint for almost two hours after only a short break but she just kept going. She had to see if the soldiers had come from Hiabian. She felt guilty about leaving the poor boy behind, doomed to either be killed or worse, captured by the Fire Nation. After all, he had no chance against three guards and a General. No one did! Well, maybe her father could. Her father was strong. He would've held off the soldiers from the city, right?

She got to the ridge over looking the city and gasped. There was dark smoke rising from different places in the city. She felt tears prickle her eyes when she realized that one of those places was her home. No. She couldn't cry now. She needed to help. She looked at the cliff. It was the fastest way down. The road to Hiabian ran around the cliff before doubling back and tracing the side of the hill. Then it criss-crossed the front of the cliff until it straightened out to a straight shot to the rear gate of the city. She walked to the edge and looked down. It was at a steep, but not unmanageable, angle. She could run down it and save herself hours of side roads. But, if she ran even a little too fast or too slow then she would tumble and could break her neck. Kara wasn't usually one to over think things, or even think much at all, but she needed to make sure this was the right thing to do. She looked back up to the burning city. _Her _burning city. The city she had grown up in and had helped to save once before. Then, she could just go and beg for help. Now would be different. She ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped before she could chicken out.

She knew what to do. Her dad had taught her how. She leaned back and took huge steps, digging her heals into the loose rocks and dirt. Pebbles flew around her. Ranging in size from the size of the nail on her little finger to ones the size of a loaf of bread. Some were the size of the balls the kids of the village kicked around for fun! She reached the first place where the road crossed back over and tried to skid to a hault, but her momentum took her back over the other edge. She leaned back and kept running. Adrenaline flooded Kara's veins. Her head pulsed with every stride. She really wished more than ever that her dad would've just gotten her an ostrichhorse! As she reached the next road she tried to slow down and tripped a little. She waved her arms to try and steady herself. She hit the road and fell to her knees. Kara threw her shoulder forward and rolled to keep from breaking anything and threw her weight to the side so she rolled along the road instead of off it. Tumbled over herself a few times before laying out flat on her back. Her elbow was skinned and she had a bruise on her upper right bicep, but other than that she was OK. She wished there was a fountain her to quench her thirst but alas, she had only the trees to greet her. She got to her feet and heaved in deep gulps of air as she tried to catch her breath. She looked up the hill. She had made it over halfway. But she had to keep moving. She got up and ran down the road, deciding to take the safer way. She got to the base of the cliff and breathed heavily. She sat on a rock for a moment.

"Almost there." She sighed.

She started down to the gates slowly, keeping to the shadows and bushes to keep from being seen. She got to the gates of Hiabian and hid in a tree to get a good look. The gates were really just a big wall that was opened and closed with earth bending. Right now the wall had been raised and was being maintained by a few earth benders in chains. There were two guards. One on each side of the gate. And most likely a few more on the other side. Kara tried to think about a plan when the guards started shouting and pointing down along the path. She looked and saw the wanderer from before. His cloak was burned and he had a walking stick that he was relying heavily on to steady himself. Kara was so amazed that he was even here. But... If he was limping the whole way, how did he get here so quickly? And how had he survived at all? The guards ran to him and three more replaced them at the gate. He collapsed just as they got to him. Kara figured he was done, but she watched all the same.

As she watched, the soldiers encircled the boy and approached slowly. One of them reached down to inspect him and he pounced. He threw off his cloak and draped it over the man's head, momentarily blinding him. He then took his staff and smacked the other soldier across his head, knocking him down. The other soldier ripped the burned cloak off of him self and shot a fireball at the boy. He rolled under it and punched the man in his stomach and hit him in the head with the staff. Kara looked back to the gate and saw the guards running to the aid of their fallen comrades. When Kara looked back to the where the boy was she gasped. He was gone! She heard some commotion near the gate. There was no way, Kara thought. She looked over and saw the boy take down one of the other soldiers. How had he gotten over there so fast? He teleported. That was the only way.

The boy threw his staff at the last soldier as he was getting up. He fell back to the ground. Kara stared in wonder at the boy. Under his cloak he wore a green sleeveless shirt and black arm bands. He looked to be about Kara's age and she was surprised at how lean he was. He had almost no fat on him. He was covered in as much muscles as a twelve year old could have. He turned and looked right at her. Kara's heart stopped, but only for a moment. He jerked his head to the side, implying that he wanted her to come to him. She looked around before turning back to him. She pointed to her chest and mouthed, "Me?" He nodded.

Kara dropped to the ground and jogged over to him. "That was amazing! How did you-" She started.

"Who are you?" He asked sternly.

"-do that?" Kara finished. "Hey, I could ask you the same question!"

"But I asked first. And considering I've already saved your life twice today, I think I deserve an answer." He retorted.

"Twice? I was just going to hop _over _the wall, not attack the guards." Kara snapped.

"Oh really?" He asked. "And how were you going to, 'just hop over'?" He made air quotes over the last three words.

"Well, I..." Kara guessed. In truth, she hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"You an earth bender?" He asked.

"Um, no." Kara stated.

"You got a rope?"

"No."

"You were just going to jump from a tree?" He asked.

Seeing her opportunity to regain some of her dignity Kara nodded. "Yes I was!"

"OK good. So where were you going to land so that you didn't die?"

Kara thought for a moment. "Uh..."

"And which tree were you going to jump from? Cause none of the ones around here are tall enough."

Kara looked around. It was true. They were all much too short. There was the sound of foot steps and the boy started walking towards the wall and pressed himself flat against it.

"Hey, psst!" He called and jerked his thumb against the wall. Kara walked over and stood next to him. He inched closer to one of the trapped earth benders. He was tall and muscled with dark brown hair. Kara recognized him as the butcher from town. "I'm going to free you, but once I do you need to close the gate. But wait until we get inside." The man grunted his agreement and whispered to the others.

"So what is your name?" The boy looked back at Kara.

"Kara," She said, leaving off the part about being the General's daughter. "You?"

"Lee." He said. It was obviously a lie. Lee was the most common name there is for a boy. He lifted something up and broke the chain for the earth benders. Kara looked to see one of the soldier's swords. He handed it to her. "You'll need it." Lee said. "You can't bend."

"And you can?" Kara asked. "...Can you?" He didn't answer.

The Fire Nation soldiers ran through the gates and to the fallen ones from before. Lee grabbed her arm and they ran in the city with the earth benders. They all got in positions in a line along the gate and jumped, sweeping their arms in and down. The raised section of the wall began to fall and the soldiers turned to see what was happening.

"Hey wait!" One called.

Lee turned to them, gave them the Fire Nation solute and bowed in a mocking gesture. He turned to the others and said from under his large hat, "We're in."

Now all they had to do was find and free the citizens and the General, all whilst fighting off fire benders. Easy as pie.

* * *

AN: Well this is one I've wanted to do for a while and now I finally have something down. And as always, thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Revolt!

AN: OK, I need to change something from the last chapter. I messed up. Kara is thirteen not twelve and Lee is fourteen. OK? Good. Enjoy, and please feel free to leave any comments or criticism.

* * *

A lone Fire Nation soldier walked drunk through the edge of the recently captured city of Hiabian. He walked through the night, unaware of what stalked him from the shadows. He felt a rush of wind brush the hairs on the back of his neck. He turned and saw the figure of a little boy standing in the street.

"Hey!" He called, "It's past dark and dat means passed curfew!" The alcohol slurred his words. He took a step towards the boy and Lee lept at him. He took him down in seconds and scanned the fallen man for his map. Once he got it he looked around for any other guards. Seeing none he jerked his head sideways. Kara and three of the earth benders from the wall, Boldi the baker and two of his sons, Kako and Taos ran from one alleyway and all hid in another.

"So, what happened?" Kara asked.

"It was about two days ago." Boldi explained. "The ships came out of nowhere. Three of 'em. They landed off the coast and we thought that they were avoiding us, because of last time. But they had only dropped off some form of specialized soldiers. They snuck into the city in the night. They kidnapped your fa-" A look from Kara made him change his wording, "General Tolu and the other soldiers. Then they broke into the academy and took the files for all of the students. They took the ones that could bend and chained up them and anyone else that fought back. They had control of the city by noon."

"What were these specialized soldiers look like?" Lee asked.

"What? Why?" Kako asked. He looked a lot like his brother in facial features but they had very different body structures. Kako was large and broad for his age. He had full shoulders and big muscles from working in his father's bakery. But Taos was small and stout. He was about five years younger than Kako and hadn't worked in the bakery as much.

"What did they look like?" Lee repeated.

"They had little armor, mostly black cloth. And they always kept to the shadows." Boldi said.

Lee only nodded. "Where are they keeping the captives?"

"They have divided them up into three groups." Taos said. "The citizens who had fought back are being kept in the academy. The earth bending kids and revolters are in the brig of one of the ships. And the city leaders, which is really just the General and his advisers, are being kept in town square. That's where most of the guards are."

Boldi looked at Kara with a soft expression. "They're going to execute them at dawn." Kara's breath caught. "They spent the whole day constructing a gallows in the town square. The General's captain announced that the hanging would be an example of the fact that the Fire Nation never truly lose."

"How did they get in the city without any earth benders?" Lee asked.

"We don't know." Boldi said.

"Well who's in charge of the soldiers?"

"I think its the General." Kako said.

"Which General?" Lee asked.

"Tsou." Kara said. "He looks young and has a hooked nose."

"How do you know?" Taos asked.

"He tried to grab me on my way here." She explained.

"OK so here's the plan-" Lee said.

"Who put you in charge, midget?" Kako asked.

"I did when I saved you're sorry ass." He replied. Kako growled but looked away in defeat. "Now as I was saying, you three will go and save the earth benders. You'll need to check all of the ships at once, so you decide who takes which. Then you all need to go and free the other prisoners. From there you all need to get to the wall and drive the Fire Nation down to the docks on my signal." He pointed on the map he took from the soldier.

"So what are you gonna be doing?" Kako asked.

"We are going after the General."

"Tolu or Tsou?" Taos asked.

"Both." Lee said. "But first, we'll need weapons." He said turning to Kara. "That broken sword will not get you far."

"My father keeps a supply of weapons at our house." Kara said. The moment she did she regretted it.

"Where is your house?" Lee asked.

"On the way to the town square from here. Right here." She pointed on the map. "A few blocks away."

"Alright, let's go." Lee said.

"Wait." Boldi said. "How will we know what the signal is?"

"You'll know." Lee replied and took off running with Kara hot on his heels.

* * *

"Here we are." Kara huffed. This guy was a freaking deer! He ran so fast that she could barely keep up and yet he still wasn't out of breath.

"Big house." He noted. And it was. It was on a slight hill overlooking the bay. It had at least twenty bedrooms and five grand sitting rooms. Kara hated it but her father said that he needed to at least seem like the leader of the city.

"My dad has a lot of money." Most of which he spent on the city. The entire front door had been broken in and the place was a wreck. The books and scrolls were laying across the floor, tables were overturned, chairs were burned and broken, walls were cracked and smashed, in some paces the floor it'self was torn up. Probably from earth bending.

Kara ignored the ball forming in her throat and just walked through the wreckage, looking for her father's office. She got to the room and saw that it too was torn apart. Her father's desk was broken in two, one piece being substantially bigger than the other. She shoved the small part and tried to move the larger one but it wouldn't budge. She threw all of her weight against it, but it wouldn't move an inch. She turned to Lee.

"Well, are you going to help?" She asked.

He put one foot on the stone desk and gave it a hard shove. The desk slid across the room and hit the wall with a loud _Boom _reveling a trap door.

"You're an earth bender?" Kara asked.

"No." Lee said sternly and knelt to open the door. He hefted it open and removed a heavy chest from the hole. He opened the chest and saw a large variety of weapons. Kara reached in and took out a large battleaxe. It had two large semi-circle blades on either side of the handle that had a diameter of almost a foot and a half. It's handle was about three feet long and made from a dark wood and had a metal covering over the bottom. She shouldn't even be able to lift such a hunk of metal, but she still strapped it to her back. Lee grabbed two daggers and strapped them to his ribs. He then took a simple double edged two and a half foot long sword and sipped it onto his back. He stood up and looked around. He thought to himself for a moment.

"Where does you're father keep his clothes?" He asked Kara.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because we need them." Lee said flatly.

"Huh," Kara rubbed the bridge of her nose. "In his room, I guess. Third room down the hall."

"Good. Now get a large cloak." Lee walked off down the hall to get one of his own.

* * *

"These men are criminals of the Fire Nation!" Called the General as he paced up and down the gallows in front of the General and his four advisers and his right hand, Captain Zayo. Zayo had his sleek black hair in a top knot and wore a stoic look on his handsome face. Lee smiled seeing the bandage on his nose from where he broke it. "They had attempted to resist the orders of the Fire Lord himself! And that cannot be tolerated."

A crowd of people had gathered, both soldiers and citizens, and two teenage rescuers. Lee and Kara stood not far from the platform. So close that Kara could see the beaten face of her father. Although she and Lee were wearing heavy cloaks to hide they're faces and weapons, plus Lee had his straw hat. Kara still hadn't seen his face. But right now she had other issues to deal with.

"We need to get closer." Lee whispered to her. They inched closer and closer. Dawn was almost apon them. The sky was already beginning to glow pink and orange.

"With the raise of the sun so to raises the power of the Fire Lord." The General continued to preach.

Kara stepped forward and accidentally bumped into a guard. "Hey watch it!" He shouted. "Looks like you need some manners." He grabbed her hard by the arm and lit a fire in his other hand.

"I'm sorry!" Kara squealed in attempt to calm the man. He reeked of alcohol. People were starting to stare and a few other guards had started towards them.

"Wait a minute." The guard holding Kara said. "Don't I know you?"

"No. You must be mistaken."

The man snarled. "Are you calling me stupid now too?"

"No! I was just-"

The man ripped her hood off revealing her face.

"That's the General's daughter!" Another guard called. General Tsou looked down and smiled wickedly.

"Capture her alive." The General called. "We still need those documents."

And then the square exploded into action. Lee punched a soldier in the side, in the vulnerable spot just under the metal of the breastplate. He then turned and punched another in the throat. Before any of the others could react he rolled forward and stabbed a guard. One if the faster soldiers shot a fireball at Lee and he grabbed the nearest guard and used him as a human shield. The fireball hit the man in his chest, he grunted and crumpled to the ground. Lee threw his cloak at the soldier that shot the fireball but kicked it out of his way and shot another fireball. Lee rolled out of the way and pulled out his sword. He held his sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. Kara used the the confusion to join Lee in the center of a clearing that had opened up in the crowd. She ripped off her cloak and held up her axe in defense of any sudden attack.

A soldier stepped forward and Kara greeted him with a battleaxe to the face. It bounced off his helmet with a resounding _clang_! She then hit him in the gut with the hilt. He grunted and fell. Kara turned to the next. He stood with his arms raised in the fire bending ready stance. He fired two quick bursts of fire at her and then swept his foot, creating a wave to follow it. Kara spun her axe in circles as easily as twirling a stick. She sliced horizontally through the fire blasts and they dissipated. She lept over the wave of heat and slammed the pommel of her axe into the man's skull, knocking him unconscious.

A few feet away, Lee fended off three soldiers at once with ease. He dodged a sword and countered with a knee. He blocked a jab and stabbed at whatever exposed it'self. He didn't bother to avoid the fire they sent his way. Whatever hit him couldn't hurt him. And seeing this just added to the soldier's fear of him. He grabbed the wrist of the guard and twisted it at a hard angle, breaking the bones. The man yelped in pain and Lee smiled to himself a little. Lee felt no remorse for them. These men were weak! They knew what they were getting into when they joined the army, and even if they didn't, they should've. It was either by stupidity or greed that they were here.

"Enough of this!" Tsou called. He ran to the leaver to drop the prisoners. "They all die now!" He pulled the leaver and they all dropped. The men squirmed and twitched as their airways were forced closed by the ropes.

"No!" Kara cried.

Lee threw his dagger and it cut the rope around one of the General's advisers necks. He fell to the ground, erupting into a coughing fit. Before the guards could react he hurled his other and freed another of the men. But now he was out of knives.

Lee dashed forward, weaving through the crowd and knocking over those who weren't fast enough to dodge him. He ran at the platform and jumped. There was no way he should've made it. The platform was at least six feet off the ground. But he did. He actually made it. But his stay was short lived. Captain Zayo just walked forward and kicked him off.

Lee landed heavily with a _thud_. Zayo dropped down right in front of him with a sneer on his face. "What are you doing here, boy? Do you think you can save them? Why do you concern yourself with these rats?" He asked. His voice was young. Younger than Tsou. He seemed to be in his early twenties. And a captain. Lee knew he had to be wary of this man. But he also needed to get to the General. He saw the man's face getting redder and redder.

Lee held his sword at the ready as he circled the Captain. Zayo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching for Lee's first move. Lee had lost one of his biggest advantages, the fact that fire couldn't harm him. Lee lunged, but Zayo tilted his shoulders and his sword passed right by him. Zayo raised his knee, knocking Lee's sword up. Lee took a step back and Zayo kicked him in the chest. He stumbled back but regained his balance. Lee needed o finish this quick. He dashed to the right of Zayo using his blinding speed but Zayo was just as fast. He was on Lee in an instant, kicking him and spinning him around, all the while his hands never left his back. Another soldier walked up behind Lee and took up a ready stance. Zayo looked ant him and shook his head. The confused soldier stood down. It was just Lee and Zayo. He stood erect facing a very annoyed boy in front of him. Lee charged straight at the man in attempt to catch him off guard. Zayo leaned back and his foot shot out, stopping inches from Lee's face. Lee felt a tremendous heat as he was hit point-blank with a fireball. He recoiled, stumbling back several large steps. His hat was on fire! He throw it off and everyone who hadn't ran off gasped.

Everyone stopped and stared at him. Lee stood as the center of attention in the town square. Kara finally got a good look at him and was sure that his name wasn't Lee. He had a well defined jaw and raised cheek bones that framed his nose well. He had full lips and his ears were normal. What drew everyone's gaze was his hair. Kara had only heard stories of people with golden hair. It was said that one of the most ancient families of the Fire Nation had hair woven from sunlight to fuel their bending and make it the strongest it can be. He had golden hair that that parted in the middle and hung loosely around his face in thick locks, matching his golden Fire Nation eyes, which at the moment held a look of pure contempt for the Fire Nation Captain. He responded to the look with one of stoicism. He didn't even seem a little surprised.

Lee looked at the choking men hanging from the ropes and made his decision. It would be painfully obvious that he was Fire Nation after his hair and eyes were revealed, this would only make them fear him a little more. Lee took a step towards Zayo and punched in his direction. Fire erupted from his knuckles and shot at the Captain. But not normal, orange-red fire. No. Lee's fire was the color of liquid gold. It flowed through the air beautifully and dangerously at Zayo. He just stepped out of the way. Lee pressed the attack with another fire punch and ignored the screaming around him. Zayo moved out of the way. He launched himself at his opponent and fire two punches midair. Zayo kicked his own fire at them and they collided mid air, fizzling into nothing. Lee landed right in front of Zayo and tried to uppercut him. But before he could, he received a hard knee in his stomach. Lee grunted. He looked over the Captain's shoulder and saw the General and remaining two advisers struggling to stay conscious. Time to end this!

Lee jumped back and got into a ready stance. This time, Zayo charged Lee. Lee took a step and fell into his shoulder, landing his back. He spun his body in large circles and waves of golden fire radiated away from him, throwing the remaining gathered farther away from him. He tried to aim as he spin but this move was more of a "spray and pray" type thing. But to his luck he hit his targets. All three of the ropes around the hanging men's neck caught fire and broke under the strain.

Lee skidded to a stop and flipped back up to his feet. He was shaky at first but he made his way under the flaming gallows and to the men. The two advisers from before, who had hidden under the platform, were helping the other advisers. Kara used her axe to cut the rope around the General's throat. He instantly started coughing.

Kara's breath caught. Lee put a hand on her arm and said, "Don't worry. Coughing's a good sign."

Kara flinched at his touch but let him hold onto her for support. He was a fire bender! And what was up with the golden fire? This just kept getting weirder. "You should send the signal." She finally said without looking at him.

"You're right." He said with a nod. Lee was hoping to be able to just ring a bell or something but now this was his best option. He peeked his head out from under the platform and looked around. Everyone still looked dazed from his little "Spinning Dragon". Tsou and Zayo were nowhere to be seen. Lee looked up and threw a fireball as high as he could.

* * *

After a few moments he heard crashing and knew that Boldi and his sons had attacked. He considered going and helping but decided against it. Best to keep as few people knowledgeable about him being from the Fire Nation as possible. He went and sat against a post supporting the platform. Kara stared at him with suspicious eyes.

And could you blame her? He was Fire Nation! HE WAS FIRE NATION! And a fire bender! He lied to her!

"So, _Lee_, you're Fire Nation?" She asked. Her father sat next to her and breathed deeply.

"Huh..." He sighed. "Really? I hadn't realized! I guess that automatically makes me the most evil thing in the history of ever!"

"Just about." Kara scoffed.

"Kara, don't be rude." General Tolu said, rubbing his neck where the noose had made a mark.

"What?" She asked in exasperation. "Father he's _Fire Nation!_"

"And he saved my life." He added. Kara opened her mouth to protest further but Tolu quieted her with a hand. "Kara, I owe this boy my life, and so do my advisers. And most likely the entire city does."

Lee looked away. "I don't deserve this praise. I did what I did for selfish reasons." He explained.

The general looked at him quizzically. "And what purpose would that be?"

Lee looked at the man hesitantly. Could he trust this man? He sighed. "The soldiers that attacked you in the night, the ones in black, they are part of an organization called the _Shadow. _They are a division of the Fire Nation military. They are pure evil. Many different cities have been destroyed by them out of their leader's curiosity. It seems his only goal is the collection of knowledge, under any circumstance."

Tolu thought for a moment. "I haven't heard of this group before." He said.

"Their covert ops mostly." Lee explained.

"They sound horrible." Kara said.

"I have made it my mission to eliminate them all." Lee said harshly.

Tolu noticed the look of hatred on the boy's face. "Why does it have to be you?"

Lee looked up and said, "As I said, I have my own reasons."

* * *

They sat in silence for a while. It wasn't until the riots had gotten to the town square that any of them moved. They were all exhausted.

A head peeked under the platform and grinned at them. It was Taos. His eyes scanned the gathered. He looked from Tolu to Kara to the advisers and to Lee. His eyes paused on Lee, noting the golden eyes and hair, but he quickly looked back to Kara and her father.

"We've driven the soldiers to the docs. The General and his Captain left on the bigger ship but we have the others trapped. You should come and decide what to do with them, General."

Tolu nodded and emerged from under the platform with Kara and Lee in tow. Everyone gave the the four a wide birth as they walked to the docs through the crowd of cheering citizens. They all stared at Lee with either horror or terror or awe or contempt. Someone even spit at him and shouted, "Ash-maker!" Slowly the crowd fallowed them.

When they got to the docs there were about twenty Fire Nation soldiers on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs with stone handcuffs. All of their helmets had been removed, showing the terrified faces of the poor bastards. They all had hair so dark it looked black and golden eyes. One man looked to be no older than seventeen. He was staring directly downward and shaking. He wasn't ready to die. A crowd of the men and women who had captured them stood around them. All of whom whooped with glee when they saw the General walking towards them. But they feel silent when Lee appeared from behind him. There were a few sneers and some gasps. Tolu walked up to the line of men and looked down on them with a stoic look on his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen," He called out to the gathered, "I present to you, the Fire Nation soldiers." Some of the people looked at the General but most of the crowd attention was focused on Lee. "We have once again driven off the hoards of the Fire Lord." This brought on a cheer. "The people who tried to take our homes from us should be punished!" Again more cheering. "What do you think we should do to them?" He gestured to the men who were kneeling in front of them.

There were shouts about everything from "Throw them in the ocean!" to "Set 'em adrift!" someone called out, "String 'em up!" and everyone seemed to like that idea. The crowd started chanting, "Hang them! Hang them! Hang them!" Lee agreed. They were stupid enough to have attacked a city that they couldn't capture fully and then got caught. They didn't deserve the lives that their mothers gave them.

Kara, however, felt the opposite. Just because these men attacked them didn't give anyone the right to kill them. Killing was wrong and should only be used as a last case resort.

"You want me to kill the ones responsible?" Tolu asked. The crowd cheered. "I'm afraid I can't right now." Everyone started muttering in confusion. "They aren't here." Tolu continued. "These men and women are not responsible for the attack on your homes. They did not drive the ships. They did not make the plans. They did not give the orders."

"Actually, I did drive one of the ships..." A man said. Tolu glared at him and he went silent.

"You see, my fair people, these are just soldiers. The arms and legs of the Fire Nation. They merely did as they were told to do. The true man behind the attack on your families is the Fire Lord himself!" Tolu threw his fist into the air for emphasis. "He has sent these innocent sons and daughters, these brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers to be kill and be killed by those of us who blindly strike back out of hurt. We must not let our pain be a shroud over our eyes. Instead we must take this pain and let it fuel us in our fight of the Fire Lord. Senseless killing only leaves room for more pain. These people deserve fairness. The Fire Lord may send his people to be killed pointlessly but we are not savages! Let's show him that he can not turn us into ones!" The crowd cheered in response.

Tolu walked over to his Captain of the Guard and said, "Take them to prison to await trial."

The prisoners were taken away one by one. Someone in the crowd called, "You missed one!" A rock hit Lee in the back of his head. He grunted and fell to his knees. He grit his teeth and turned apon the crowd with a look of rage on his face. Some woman screamed and another man called, "He's dangerous! Get him before he hurts anyone!" People edged closer to him and he turned on them.

"Stay back!" He said each word individually to intimidate them, but it was hard with his barely five foot stature. The people didn't listen. They kept advancing towards him, weapons held high. Lee formed two golden fireballs in his hands to scare off the crowd, but it seemed to only confirm their suspicions. They advanced towards him in one solid mass of anger.

Tolu stepped between them. "Lee is my personal guest from this point on and anyone who harms him in anyway will have me to deal with." He said. Lee stared with him in surprise. Why was he helping him? Was it because he saved his life? It had to be. That was the only reason. Tolu turned to Lee and said, "You can stay with me until the time when you choose to leave."

"Th-Thank you?" Lee more asked than said.

Kara merely stared at the boy. Thinking hard about what he had said and done that day for her. And more over, what he didn't say.

* * *

The rest of the day passed without incident. The three went back to the General's house and ate in the wrecked dining room. After that the General showed Lee to a guestroom that was untouched and he went to sleep quickly.

After Tolu and Kara went to sleep, Lee got up and snuck out of the house. After the events of the night before, Tolu had posted guards to patrol the city. But Lee was quiet, and Lee was quick. He snuck from street to street, slowly making his way to the docs. He got there quickly and looked around. Not many guards. None close enough to stop him. Lee walked to one of the smaller boats in the harbor. It was made for maybe four or five people.

He hopped in and started untying the boat from the doc. He worked quickly and silently, making sure not to make any mistakes. He freed the boat and pushed off the doc. The wind was on his side and by the time he heard the alarm bells ring behind him he was already leaving the bay. He walked over and sat down by the wheel. He took out the map he took from the guard and laid it out to examine it.

It was cold. He searched the cargo hold for any extra clothing to wear over his measly shirt and found it stocked with enough supplies for a week's journey. He was shocked that there was so much. Lee saw a water tribe coat draped over a crate. Probably bought when docked trading. He walked over and lifted it up and saw Kara hiding in the crate.

"Kara?!" Lee exclaimed.

"Hiya." She grinned.

"What are you doing here?" Lee asked

"Coming with you." She said getting out of the crate. She had the same battleaxe from before strapped to her back.

"No you're not." Lee insisted.

"Well it doesn't look like you're turning around and you're certainly not dumping me in the ocean!" She said raising an eyebrow.

"I might!" Lee said.

She brandished the axe. "Try. I dare you."

Lee sighed. He looked at the stubborn girl in front of him with irritation. "I am dropping you off at my next stop."

She smiled at him. "So, if we're going to be traveling together-"

"_Temporarily_!" He said.

"-temporarily traveling together," she continued, "I think I should know your real name."

He rubbed his neck and groaned. "Zoru." He huffed. "My name's Zoru."

She flashed him her teeth and held out her hand. "Kara." They shook and Kara skipped onto the deck.

"So, Zoru, where are we going?" Kara asked.

"To take out the Shadow." He said.

"And where are they?" She asked.

"They constantly move to wherever they can gather the most information." Zoru explained.

"And where is that now?" Kara tilted her head to the side in question.

Zoru pointed on the map. "The North Pole."

* * *

AN: OK so this is a long one! It took a while but I really felt that it should be one chapter. Don't expect them to be this long from here on out. And as always, thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3: Frozen Hunt

AN: Please enjoy!

* * *

"Again!" The instructor called.

Akko (Ah-ko) bent over himself and heaved in the cold northern air. He looked up at Master Pakku's angry face. He stood up and focused on the large jar of water in front of Pakku. He raised his wrist and a small stream of water flowed out of it, floating into the air and curling into a ball in front of Akko. He shifted his stance and extended his arm gracefully, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He stepped thought the stances and the poses that Pakku had showed him. He was almost done when the water stared to ripple and shake. Akko tried to control it but couldn't. The water splashed to the floor and covered Akko's blue pants.

"I can't do this!" He shouted in frustration. "I am the worst water bender in all of the North Pole! I'll never get this!"

"Huh." Pakku sighed. He held up his hand and all of the water returned to the pot. "You'll get it. You just need to work harder."

"I've been working my ass off!" He shouted getting angrier. "I'm the only water bender in existence that can't bend water!" He stormed off and Pakku let him leave. As Akko stomped out the door, the ice pot holding the water exploded, shattering into small pieces. Pakku stared at the pot in wonder and looked to where the boy just was.

* * *

"Are we there yet?!" Kara asked, again.

"No." Zoru called back from the wheel without looking away from the map.

"Are we there now?" Kara asked.

"No." He said flatly.

"How about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No.

Kara opened her mouth to ask again but before a syllable had left her lips, Zoru called back, "No." She looked at him.

"You've got your nose buried in a map. How did you know that I was going to say anything?"

"I inferred from prior knowledge." He finally looked at her, "You haven't shut up since we crossed into Water Tribe territory."

Kara huffed and turned away from the fire bender. She scratched at the itchy fabric of the water tribe coat she had on. She stared out at the endless blue water and ice. The water was flat and smooth. It almost looked like the sky. Only below them. And the ice could be clouds.

Kara got up and shouted, "Ah! I'm going crazy!"

"Why don't you go for a swim." Zoru said sarcastically.

Kara glared at his back and yawned. "I think I'm gonna go take a nap. At least it'll kill time." She went below deck and laid on a pile of furs. They were soft. She snuggled up and dreamed of a Water Tribe boy...

* * *

Akko watched the water bending class from his room, far away. He had decided not to go. And what was the point of him going? It wouldn't help. He sat on his bed and sighed.

"Akko." His mother called from his doorway. "Why didn't you go to your lessons?" She asked tenderly.

"Why should I?" He asked without looking at her.

"To better your skills as a-"

"What skills?" He cut her off.

His mother hesitated. "You are gifted, Akko. Like your father. You just need to learn to control your talents."

"Ha, gifted? I have no talents. I am the worst water bender in the entire North Pole."

"No you're not."

"Then who is? If not me then who? It has to be someone, and I can't even do the water whip. The most basic move!"

The Water Tribe woman sighed at her stubborn son. She walked over and sat next to him on the bed. "You may be having trouble now, but that doesn't mean you can't get better. Maybe you could ask your father for-"

"Help?" Akko finished. "That man wouldn't give me food if he didn't have to!"

Akko's mother turned him and forced him to look at her. Akko and her shared the same maple brown colored hair and coppery skin, but he had his father's silvery grey eyes. Her hair was tied back in a long braid that curled around her shoulder and framed her oval face beautifully. He had inherited his father's square jaw and long nose. He hated looking like that man. "Listen to me." She said. "Your father cares about you. He loves you. He just doesn't know how to show it all the time. But even when he forgets to say it, he loves you. Remember that."

Akko looked away and huffed. "I just wish he'd tell me himself." He muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, a masculine voice angrily called from the other room, "Akko!" Akko cringed at his father's use of his name. The burly man burst through the doorway and looked at the boy on the bed. "What are you still doing here?" He demanded.

"I'm not going to water bending class." Akko said defiantly.

"You what?"

"Let him take a day, Paruk (Pah-rook)." Akko's mother said. "He doesn't feel well."

"This is between me and him, Yaruka (Ya-rook-a)." Paruk said sternly. "Now, boy, why are you still here?"

"I don't want to go any more. I'm the worst water bender there. I can't do it!" Akko complained.

"You can do it. You're my son." Paruk said. "I'm just trying to make you into a man. One day you'll thank me. But for now, you're going."

"No, I'm not." Akko stood up and stood in front of his father. He had just hit his growth spurt but the man still stood head and shoulders above him.

"You just don't understand, this is for your own good." Paruk said sternly. "Now go!" He pointed to the door.

Akko stood in place, shaking with anger. "I'm not going."

Paruk glared at the rebellious teenager. "Yes, you are." In one swift move Paruk grabbed the boy by his hood, dragged him through the house and hurled him out the front door. Akko tumbled over himself in a clumsy heap.

Paruk stepped out and spat. "Go!"

"I won't!" Akko shouted back as he got up. He clenched his fists in anger.

Seeing this the man smirked. "You wanna hit me boy? Then do it."

Akko charged and tried to punch Paruk on the jaw, but before he could, Paruk threw his hands to the sides and pulled them in. Snow from nearby piles formed into a ball in front of him. He swayed and hit Akko in the side with a wave of snow. He was knocked off balance and Paruk fired the ball of snow at him. Akko fell into a snowbank and was buried.

"Don't come back until your lessons are done!" Paruk shouted as he walked back inside.

* * *

"I'm so hungry..." Kara complained.

Zoru glared at her. "You just ate two weeks worth of food meant for four people in two days and your _still _hungry?!" He asked. The two sat at the back of the boat bickering while their stomachs grumbled.

"I'm a teenager. What do you expect?" She asked innocently.

"I expected you to only need enough food to feed one person. Not a pack of fully grown tigerdillos!" Zoru shouted.

"I was hungry." Kara shrugged.

"I thought boys were supposed to be pigs. But you're so much worse than me!" He huffed.

"Well you're small, you don't need as much food to sustain you." She counter defensively.

"Hey! I'm not that short!"

"Oh, yes you are!"

"Well you're freakishly annoying!"

"_I'm_ a freak?"

"Well that's not what I said, but yeah."

"At least I know more than one person with my hair color!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

They glared at each other and went back to staring at the calm waters.

"I'm so hungry..." Kara complained.

"Gah! I can't take this!" Zoru shouted. "We're almost to the North Pole and then I'll finally be rid of you!" He stormed off.

Kara glared after him. "Well I've enjoyed your company too!"

* * *

Akko walked along the top of the ice pack near the North Pole. He had snuck away in stead of going to class. He hated it. He hated water bending. So he did what he always did when he needed to get away. He went hunting. His polar dog, Karru (Ka-roo), paced in between his legs as he walked, her tong flopping about as she did so. He always took Karru with him. She kept him company. She was technically wild but she never attacked Akko and had even helped him hunt before. Akko new that his father would never allow him to keep Karru should he ask so he didn't ask.

She was big for polar dogs. She had dark grey fur on her back and head and white on her face and underbelly. There was a stripe of grey fur running down the center of her face that branched out around her eyes and framed her head. Her paws were made for running on ice, with large flat pads that gripped the frozen water and propelled her forward. Her tail was as long as her body and covered in thick hair, for balance.

He marched across the ice as silent as a whisper as he saw a pack of turtle seals. He crept closer using whatever cover he could find. He held his spear made of a whale bone against his chest. He breathed deeply. In through his nose and out through his mouth. He looked at the dog and smiled. He scratched the top of her head and looked over the boulder he was using as a hiding place. There were about five.

He put an hand on top of the icy rock and vaulted over it. He ran at the animals at full speed with Karru running right beside him. They turtle seal barked in alarm and fled. They tried to get to the water but before they could Akko jumped on one and drove his spear through the creature's skull. The others escaped and Akko stood there breathing heavily. He smiled to himself as the thrill of the kill slowly died down.

"Woof! Woof!" Karru barked happily at the water where the other turtle seals had disappeared. She paced the edge of the water and barked repeatedly. Akko chuckled at the silliness of the animal.

"Good girl!" He said as he scratched behind her head.

He took out his knife and proceeded to mindlessly clean and cut away the useful parts of the turtle seal carcass. When he was finished he tossed a cut of the meat to Karru and walked to the water to clean his knife and spear. He put the meat and blubber in his bag and made sure to seal it up tight to make sure no animals could get to it. He patted Karru on the head as she ripped at the meat with her jaws and wagged her tail happily.

Akko sat on a rock and dropped his spear and knife. He stared out at the sea. It was calm and peaceful. So much so that it almost seemed to mock Akko. If water was always like this them maybe he could bend it to his will. But it was too loose. Too unpredictable. Whenever he tried to make it do something, part of it wanted to do something else. And other parts wanted to do something different still. It was just too inconsistent.

He grabbed a long flat rock and skipped it across the surface of the water. It hopped four times before sinking. Akko searched the shore for more rocks. Most of them were rounded bu the tide but he found a few that he thought would work. He threw the first and it sunk instantly. Akko swore under his breath. If only the water was a little more solid. Then he could throw the rocks for miles. He laughed to himself at his ridiculousness.

Suddenly Karru growled behind him. She never growled at him. "What's wrong girl?" He asked turning around. "Oh." He said. Karru wasn't growling at him. She was growling at the wolf that had snuck up behind them.

It was almost twice the size of Karru. It had white fur framing it's large structure and making it almost impossible to see clearly. The paws on it were the size of Akko's palm and wielded a pair of nasty looking claws. It was hunched over the carcass ot the tiger seal gnawing on the bones. Akko grabbed his spear and pointed it at the beast. He jabbed at it to shoo it away. "Ya, get!" He said.

The creature growled and continued eating. Something clicked in Akko's mind. For the hunters, getting a wolf was the ultimate prize. If he brought the hide of a wolf back, maybe his dad would stop insisting that he go to the damn water bending classes.

Akko slowly approached the beast. He held his spear high. The wolf was preoccupied with the bones of the carcass. He approached the wolf head on, not letting it get away. He couldn't get too close. He needed to make it quick, while it was occupied. He raised his spear and threw it at the wolf. It sailed high, right over the wolf and landed right next to it, impaling the ground. The wolf jumped and growled at Akko.

"Shit!" He swore. The wolf pawed towards him. It snarled, revealing it's sharp teeth. Akko fumbled for his knife, but before he could get it out the wolf lept at him. He ducked and it soared over him and landed on the frozen surface of the ocean. "Wait, when had it frozen?" Akko thought.

The wolf growled at him in anger. Akko heard more growls behind him and turned to see more wolves. About twenty more. None of the others were as big as the first and all of them had grayer fur to some extent. Akko's mind went blank. He had screwed up. Big time. He did the only thing he could. He turned and took off at a full sprint towards the village. Karru chased after him followed by the wolves. He pumped his legs as hard as he could, propelling himself as far away from the beasts as he could get. But they didn't let up. They ran just a little faster than him and were slowly gaining ground on him. His chest ached and his legs began to burn with the effort of the run. A wolf snapped at his heels, narrowly missing his Achilles tendon. It became painfully obvious that couldn't outrun them. But he couldn't fight them all at once. He need a way of splitting them up.

Akko searched the shoreline with his eyes for something, anything to hold them off. A wolf clamped it's jaws on the back of his parka. Akko felt the fabric tear but he didn't look back. Another grabbed his arm, this one hit flesh. He bashed it in the head with the back of his knife and kept running. He felt a warm wet sensation spread down his arm and soak his sleeve. He dropped the bag of turtle seal meet in the hopes of distracting them. A few of them peeled off, but most of them just kept after him.

He saw a canyon made when an iceberg cracked in half and embedded itself in the sand. He dashed over to it and ducked inside. He flew through the cavern in the hopes of forcing the wolves to pile up. He turned and held his knife at the ready. As he had hoped, they couldn't all fit in the canyon at the same time. But it was still wide enough for two at a time. They snarled and growled in harmony as they neared the boy and his pet. The one in front was the same white wolf that had first attacked him.

Karru shot forward and bit onto one of them. "No!" Akko called. But it was too late. Karru jumped forward and snapped one of the wolves. It jumped back but the white one sunk it's teeth into Pakku's back.

"Karru!" Akko called. Reacting on instinct the boy reached out to help the dog.

Suddenly the ice around him came to life, heeding his unspoken cry for help. Six poles with razor points made of ice shot from each of the walls of the cavern and impaled the white wolf all across his body right before Akko's outstretched hand, splattering blood all over the ground. The wolf wined once and died. The spears of ice continued on through the creature and stuck into the ground making a fence that blocked off the rest of the wolves from him. The white wolf released Karru from his jaws and the polar dog crumpled to the ground.

Akko stared in horror at the scene before him. His beloved pet lay bleeding before him, a pack of; now nineteen; wolves were five feet from him trapped behind a barrier of ice, ice that he had bent.

* * *

"You mean to tell me that we've been traveling for five days, **_in the wrong direction?!_**" Kara roared in outrage.

"Not the whole three days!" Zoru said in defense. "Just that sometime between leaving Hiabian and now, we've veered to the east a bit more than I'd have liked." He frowned at the map.

Kara face-palmed and glared at the little fire bender from in between her fingers. "Ya' know, when I came along with you, I thought that you'd actually have some idea as to how to get where you were going!"

Zoru laughed, "You gave me more credit than I did! In all honesty, I actually get lost a _lot_." Zoru huffed.

"But you've had your face glued to that map for the past week!" Kara protested.

"I thought if I watched the map then I'd know for certain that we were going the right way." He said.

"And...?" She begged.

"I can't read maps." He admitted.

"Then what the hell have you been using as a guide?!"

"That iceberg." He pointed out at a chunk of ice floating in the water. "Although, it does look smaller then it did last night..." He scratched his chin.

Kara stood open mouthed at the boy. He was joking. He had to be. There's no way someone could be so nautically ignorant. _Everyone _knew that icebergs floated and therefore moved according to the flow of the water. Right?

"I... You... It's..." She stuttered.

"Not now. I'm trying to think!" He said. She turned and started to walk below deck. "Where are you going?"

She looked up and glared at him. "I'm searching the cargo hold for anything sharp and pointy. And I am going to stab you." She disappeared below deck.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Zoru said. "You're joking right...? Kara...? Kara...?"

* * *

"You were too hard on him." Yaruka told her husband.

"He needs to be taught discipline and respect." Paruk said sternly.

"And throwing him out of the house by the back of his parka is going to teach him?" She roared.

"You just don't get it it." The giant man grumbled.

"No! I don't get it!" She shouted. "Why do you insist that he be a water bender? Is it because you were never the best? Because you need to prove that you have strong genes? That even your son can overcome his lack of skill?"

"It's not about me!" He stood up from the chair he had been sitting in.

"Oh, really? Because you seem very adamant to make this about you."

"I just want what's best for the boy."

"His name is Akko. An you think this is it?"

"Well what else is he going to do?"

"Hunt! He loves to hunt! We both know he's out there right now!" She pointed out the door. As she did so the door burst open to reveal a bloody and torn parka clutching a mound of pink fur to it's chest with one hand. The person looked up and the hood fell back to reveal Akko's horrified face.

"Akko!" Yaruka cried and rushed to him.

He walked in sullenly and dropped the fur on the table. She looked at it and gasped. It was a polar dog. And it was bleeding severely from a wound on it's back. Yaruka wordlessly ran to the kitchen to get some water.

Paruk stared at the boy in front of him with wide eyes. "Where did the dog come from?" He asked hesitantly. Akko didn't even look at him. "I asked you a question boy!" He said a bit more sternly. Anger rose in Paruk's chest as the boy refused to respond to his questions.

Yaruka came back in with a bowl of water. She dipped her hands in and when she pulled them back out they were covered in the water. She placed her hands on the animal's back and the water glowed blue as she began to heal.

"You didn't go to you're lessons did you, boy?" Paruk continued. "Damn it, I told you to go to class. But you didn't listen to me. And now look what you've done. You've gotten this innocent creature hurt. Probably killed. All because you had to prove that you were strong." Akko's fists clenched so hard that he was shaking with anger. "You wanna hit me boy?" Paruk smirked. "Then go ahea-"

He was cut off as Akko turned and punched Paruk in the face so hard he was sent reeling into the wall. Paruk looked stunned at the look of pure fury radiating off of his son. His silver eyes looked like cold steel in the shadow of his forehead. His entire body, shaking only a moment ago, was rigid as he stared down the older bender. He turned and for the first time Paruk saw his left hand. His eyes went wide as he saw the severed head of a giant white wolf. The head it'self was as big as a man's. He could only imagine what the rest of the beast looked like.

"Where did-?" Paruk was cut off by his son.

"You just shut the fuck up!" Akko yelled. "I am tired of you using your bending as an excuse as to why we should listen to you!" He stomped on the ground and a long shaft of ice shot out of the ground. He caught it in his right hand and pointed the tip at Paruk, just under his chin. "No more." He said coldly.

Paruk could only stammer, "Y-You can bend?" Akko didn't acknowledge the statement.

"Akko," Yaruka finally said calmly, "don't." He dropped the spear and the wolf's head and stormed off to his room. Karru, now fully healed, got up and followed him.

* * *

AN: New character! I hope Paruk didn't come across as _that _big of a douche. I wanted to make it clear that he does care about Akko, he just doesn't know how to show it. Also please leave a review if you can, it really helps let me know that this series is coming across well. And as always, thank you for reading.


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